The prior art is best seen in cash redemption machines in which coins are sorted and counted to determine a total value. The user is issued a voucher for an amount related to the total value. Examples of machines for carrying out these transactions are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,736,251, 6,494,776, 6,484,863 and earlier related patents cited therein.
Various other types of machines for both receiving coins and providing the consumer with a credit have been known, including ATM machines and large cash handling machines for gaming operations. An example is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,603.
A problem in machines that are to be used by consumers without special training is the deposit of bulk coin in the tray or other intake mechanism of the self-service cash redemption machine. As the coins are fed into the machine they tend to jam or clog in the intake opening, which is usually smaller in volume-handling capability than the intake hopper or tray.
In the prior art, intake mechanisms for coin sorting machines have been largely unpowered. There have been, however, a few examples of power feeding devices, examples of which are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,807, U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,118, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,657, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,912. These have often been large devices for large machines. In smaller machines the intake mechanism have been unpowered and subject to jamming.
There remains a need for a self-service coin recycling machine, with an improved coin feeding mechanism in which coins do not usually become jammed in the intake opening. The intake mechanism should be easy to operate, and should provide a mechanism to prevent the user from reaching into the coin flow while a feed motor is operating.